Martial Arts News

🤝Paddy Pimblett squashes his beef with Dustin Poirier:

"I don’t feel disrespected. I understand what he’s saying… 'legends only.' I’m not a legend.

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Why retire after one fight? Stop being a b*tch arse. Fight a contract out."

🎥 @PaddyTheBaddy ▫️ pic.twitter.com/AgEabNtISb

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) February 22, 2025 Dustin Poirier believes Michael Chandler will end Paddy Pimblett’s winning streak at UFC 314.

Chandler will look to return to the win column in a lightweight clash against Pimblett at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Both Chandler and Pimblett have opened at nearly even odds on most sportsbooks. And Poirier advises bettors to wager heavy on former opponent Chandler for easy money.

“Even though he's a bitch, Chandler all day go heavy on the money,” Poirier wrote on X.

Even though he's a bitch, Chandler all day go heavy on the money https://t…

Alex Pereira responds to DC pic.twitter.com/QTMvuK5ae0

— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) February 22, 2025

Alex Pereira recently alleviated Daniel Cormier’s concerns about his upcoming fight.

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Pereira will puts his light heavyweight title on the line against Magomed Ankalaev in the main event at UFC 313 on March 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Cormier recently expressed some concern about Pereira’s preparation for the upcoming fight based on his recent activity.

Pereira was spotted in Sydney, Australia, earlier this month when the promotion returned to the country for UFC 312. “Poatan” was also seen meeting and greeting rapper Drake during his concert in Sydney.

Cormier is worried about Pereira catching the infamous “Drake curse” if the musician bets on him. A betting enthusiast, Drake putting his money on an athlete or team is believed to be bad luck for them, often leading to loss. Fighters like Conor McGregor, Mike T…

Belal Muhammad believes he’s “better everywhere” compared to Jack Della Maddalena

“I think they just underestimate my hands and my striking…

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I think I’m gonna go in there and walk through [Jack].”

🎥 @remembertheshow #UFC315pic.twitter.com/UBOh6lG7xf

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 21, 2025 Belal Muhammad (24-3) thinks he is better than Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) in every aspect.

Della Maddalena challenges Muhammad for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 315 on May 10 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Shavkat Rakhmonov, who was originally expected to fight Muhammad, was offered the shot but missed out due to injury.

While Muhammad is one of the best grapplers on the entire UFC roster, Della Maddalena possesses devastating knockout power in his hands. While the Australian is expected to have an advantage over Muhammad on the feet, the champ disagrees. “Remember the Name” …

If Diego Lopes is to be believed, the era of two-division champions is over in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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While some fighters have won belts in two weight classes, only a few have enjoyed the privilege of holding two belts simultaneously, such as Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes. However, Lopes claims that will no longer be the case.

Featherweight champ Ilia Topuria recently vacated his belt to move up to lightweight, setting the stage for Lopes to face Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant 145-pound title at UFC 314. UFC CEO Dana White announced that Topuria felt he had accomplished enough at 145 pounds and has difficulty making the weight now.

However, Lopes claims Topuria was forced to vacate his belt in order to move up to lightweight.

“They were very clear to us that they said that they are no longer giving [fighters the] chance to jump from one weight class to another,” Lopes told ESPN. “If you want to move up, y…

Michael Chandler predicts an early KO in his fight against Paddy Pimblett 👀

“It’s a bad matchup stylistically for [Paddy]… I’m gonna land a right hand or a left hook and put his lights out within the first couple rounds.”

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🎥 @espnmma #UFC314pic.twitter.com/XoQZoHXEUx — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 21, 2025

Michael Chandler (23-9) vows to derail Paddy Pimblett’s (22-3) hype train at UFC 314.

Chandler and Pimblett will meet in lightweight matchup at UFC 314 on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Chandler intends to make Pimblett feel from the very first exchange that he’s fighting at a different level.

While Chandler admits that Pimblett is on a streak now, he intends to end it in Miami. “Iron” believes the Liverpudlian will fold under his pressure and go on the backfoot. Chandler will then look for the knockout blow to end the night early.

“I believe he’ll know within his very first exchange h…

There were not many bonuses handed out at UFC Seattle despite being a finish-heavy card.

Also known as UFC Fight Night 252, the bill went down at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. While none of the seven fights on the prelims card went the distance there were only two Performance of the Night bonuses doled out.

Bantamweight veteran Ricky Simon (21-6) was the only prelims fighter to earn an extra $50k bonus for his knockout win over Javid Basharat (14-2). While Simon had difficulty implementing his signature wrestling, he landed a perfect right hand to send Basharat to the shadow realm in the very first round. The win saw the 32-year-old rebound from a three fight skid.

Meanwhile, Jean Silva (15-2) received the second performance bonus of the night for the only stoppage on the main card. “Lord” was thoroughly entertaining right from his walkout, even engaging in a slap-fest with Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-3) before dropping the Armenian. Silva even waited for the ref…

Yadong Song took another step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division—albeit an anticlimactic one—and settled for a technical unanimous decision over Henry Cejudo in the UFC Fight Night 252 headliner on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it for Song (22-8-1, 11-3-1 UFC): 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

An inadvertent eye poke left Cejudo (16-5, 12-5 UFC) unable to continue after the third round. Fans in attendance lustily booed the outcome.

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Song seemed to be in control up until the finish. The Team Alpha Male standout tore into Cejudo’s lead leg with damaging kicks, often forcing him to switch stances to shield the appendage from further exposure. Song countered effectively throughout, used occasional level changes to keep the onetime Olympic gold medalist honest and leaned into potent jabs. Cejudo was effective in spurts but seemed to be trending downward at the time th…

Sherdog's live UFC Seattle coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 252. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Devin Tejada scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the roun…

Ion Cutelaba excels in chaos.

“The Hulk” continued to reassert himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division, as he dismissed Ibo Aslan with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 252 prelim on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Cutelaba (19-10-1, 8-9-1 UFC) slammed the door 2:51 into Round 1, nailing down his first submission win since April 4, 2015.

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They traded barbs throughout their brief but eventful encounter. Cutelba sat down the Gym 23 product with an overhand right and later delivered a double-leg takedown. He laced the legs, climbed toward mount and scrambled into position for the arm-triangle. It soon became clear that there was no escape for Aslan (14-2, 2-1 UFC), who tapped with resignation.

Meanwhile, onetime Predador Fighting Championship titleholder Melquizael Costa turned away Andre Fili with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featherweight confron…

One Shot to WIN. One Shot to ADVANCE. One Shot at a WORLD TITLE 🏆

Get to know the Bantamweights(135lbs) set to compete in the 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ #PFLWorldTournament

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[ Friday , April 11th | 📺 11:30 PM EST | ESPN 2 | B2YB @Cloudbet ] pic.twitter.com/Ky2dBRg666 — PFL (@PFLMMA) February 21, 2025 Fighters from a total of eight weight classes will vie for the top prize in Professional Fighters League’s 2025 tournament.

In previous years, the PFL ran its tournaments with six divisions up for grabs. A new development for 2025, the promotion announced on Friday that the bantamweight division would officially be opened, setting the stage for eight weight categories in this season of the tourney. Eight participants, several of whom pulled over from the Bellator MMA-PFL merger, will be part of the 135-pound bracket. A few notable names are absent, including champion Patchy Mix and former beltholders Raufeon Stots, Sergio Pettis and Kyo…

Main event READY 🔒@HenryCejudo weighs-in at 135lbs!

[ #UFCSeattle | TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus | 9pmET ] pic.twitter.com/MLdYfIlZVU

— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's final card of February is now official after the UFC Seattle weigh-ins finalized 12 fights.

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The main event will see former flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo look to continue his comeback against Yadong Song. Both men came in under the 136-pound limit for the five-round headlining fight. All of the rest of the fighters made weight, as well, making it an entirely professional weigh-in.

Cejudo (16-4) is 0-2 since returning from retirement. However, the losses were a close split decision defeat to then-champ Aljamain Sterling and current titleholder Merab Dvalishvili. "The Messenger" will look to show that he still has another run left in him at 38 and stepped on the scale weighing 135 pounds on the dot.

Mea…

A key top-10 contest in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight division is booked for its May return to Canada.

In January, Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight reported that Gilbert Burns (22-8) would square off with Michael Morales (17-0) in Miami on April 12. The promotion changed course for this 170-pound pairing, shifting it one pay-per-view later to UFC 315 on May 10. The two will collide inside of the Bell Centre in Montreal, likely as part of the main card. The pairing was confirmed on Thursday by the promotion.

Former title challenger Burns has struggled as of late, recording his last win in April 2023 when he outworked Jorge Masvidal. Since then, Burns fell short to future champ Belal Muhammad, got knocked out by Jack Della Maddalena and dropped a decision to Sean Brady. Despite the recent setbacks, the Brazilian finisher can still hang his hat on wins over names like Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson over the years, and he had then-champ Kam…